The present invention relates generally to interactive television. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic device for monitoring specific television activity (e.g. program or commercial viewing) and communicating monitored activity to a facility and initiating appropriate actions dependent upon the specific television activity detected. Television activities also include advertisements, presentations, contribution solicitations, and home purchasing shows, for example.
It is known in the art to survey television program viewing habits of television audiences. These surveys are especially important for commercial television broadcasting because advertising and programming decisions are based on television show popularity. Many different types of surveys are available, but one of the most accurate types is in-home monitoring. An in-home monitoring survey relates to those surveys taken when a rating company provides a household with special hardware equipment that automatically records and logs television activity. This surveying method has a number of problems. One problem relates to an expense associated with the specialized hardware along with its attendant consequence that the hardware cost limits a size of the survey sample. Another problem is that there is an error introduced into the surveying method due to the household's awareness of the survey, reflected by the presence of the special hardware. It would be desirable to have a cost effective system able to monitor accurately and cost-efficiently the viewing habits of a wide range of households.
In television broadcasting, it is also desirable to interact with the viewer. There are many commercials and programs which request viewer action such as purchasing an advertised product, making a monetary contribution, responding to a survey, answering a question, or participating in contests with other viewers, for example. Also, companies sponsoring these commercials or programs would sometimes like to provide their viewers with further information, if the viewers could be identified or if the viewer requests the information. It is difficult to separate the actual viewers from the entire television viewing audience. Identification permits the producer of the show to use cost-effective, targeted advertising, rather than other options, such as the more expensive general mailings. An additional problem is that it is difficult to motivate a viewer to request information, to send in a contribution, or to specifically respond as desired. It is desirable to provide a ready and efficient method and apparatus to facilitate an exchange of information between television viewers and producers, promoters and advertisers associated with television programming.
Merchandisers have developed the idea of money-off coupons for promoting their products. As shopping moves into the home, a method of gaining access to the home purchasers to affect their purchasing decisions is needed. Supermarkets now include coupon printers for printing coupons at the time of checkout. These coupons correspond to or complement one or more of the products actually purchased. In some cases, the printed coupons are for directly competing goods.